Eliphalet Williams Bliss (April 12, 1836 – July 21, 1903) was an American manufacturer and inventor who established the E. W. Bliss Company of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. His company supplied the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

with Whitehead and Bliss-Leavitt torpedoes, as well as projectiles for its naval guns during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

(in 1898),

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(of 1914–1918) and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(of 1939–1945).

Early life

Bliss was born on April 12, 1836, in Fly Creek, New York,

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, one of six children of

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

John Stebbins Bliss and his wife, Ruby Ann Williams Bliss. The young Bliss was educated at public schools and at a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

. He apprenticed at an Otsego County machine shop until he was twenty-one years of age. He later moved to

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and found work at the Parker gun factory in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden ( ) is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planni ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

he served as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

in Company I of the 3rd Connecticut Volunteers and saw action during the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Confederate States ...

. One of his brothers, Lucien Wood Williams Bliss, served with the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

. After the Civil War, he returned to New York and married Anna Elizabeth Metcalf on June 19, 1865. The following year, he relocated permanently to Brooklyn, where he was employed for a time at the Campbell Printing Press Company.

E. W. Bliss Company

In 1867, Bliss founded the

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tool (machining), cutting tools to make parts, usua ...

s which would become the E. W. Bliss Company. He also acquired the United States Projectile Company and the Stiles and Parker Press Company. His interest in mechanical matters diverged along two lines, the manufacture of

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...

s, presses, and dies for use in

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil (metal), foil or Metal leaf, leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 ...

work, and the manufacture of shells and projectiles. Bliss had numerous

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s taken out, many of which were his own inventions; machines for manufacturing and soldering metal cans and for shaping and casting sheet metal. Bliss' company also supplied part of the material used in building the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...

. The E. W. Bliss Company obtained rights to manufacture the Whitehead torpedo used by the US Navy, while the United States Projectile Company would later manufacture most of the shells used in its large guns. The company's experience with building the Whiteheads proved valuable in the development of the Bliss-Leavitt torpedo, which was also acquired by the US Navy.

Other endeavors

Aside from owning the E. W. Bliss Company and the United States Projectile Company, Bliss was also involved in numerous other business endeavors. He was Vice President of the Brooklyn Heights Railroad, and was Director of the Brooklyn Gas Fixture Company and the Kings County Trust Company. E. W. Bliss was a prominent member of the Peary Arctic Club, which funded the Arctic expeditions led by the explorer and U.S. naval officer Robert Peary. Peary named Bliss Bay in

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after him.

Death

Bliss died on July 21, 1903, in

. At the time of his death, the E. W. Bliss Company's plant covered eighty-five city lots and employed 1,300 men; in 1884, it was the largest factory in the world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Eliphalet Williams 1836 births 1903 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople American company founders